LINK Thinks

LINK Thinks is a space for members and others to express their views about Scotland’s environment. If you would like to contribute a blog please contact information@scotlink.org. The opinions expressed in this blog are the author's and not necessarily those of the wider LINK membership.

© Calum McLennan

Restoring Scotland’s biodiversity will take ambition, collaboration and scale

29 Oct 2024

The world’s governments are meeting in Colombia at the COP16 UN biodiversity summit this week to talk about biodiversity loss and how to stop it. Although the UK government is there, the Scottish government is not. As a nation world renowned for our landscapes and wildlife, this is a missed opportunity to contribute to and be inspired by the energy and momentum of these events.

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LINK’s new strategy to 2030

22 Oct 2024

LINK is all about its members. Set up in 1987, LINK exists to be the voice of Scotland’s voluntary environment sector and, as the sector, the voice for Scotland’s environment. In the last 37 years, LINK has amplified the voice of our members and brought the environment into the Scottish Parliament. Our new strategy to […]

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What are the Scottish government’s proposed Deer Management Nature Restoration Orders?

16 Oct 2024

The LINK Deer Group comprises all of the main eNGO landowning organisations in Scotland. What are the Scottish government’s proposed Deer Management Nature Restoration Orders? Why does the LINK Deer Group agree that this measure is now necessary? Recently the Scottish government announced its Programme for Government for 2024-5 and we can now expect a […]

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Where are all the bees?

03 Oct 2024

Earlier this summer I found myself repeatedly asking an uncomfortable question: where are all the bees? It turned out I was not alone in being disturbed by the silence in my garden – which, the Bumblebee Conservation Trust explained, was caused by a longer than usual gap between the emergence of queen and worker bees. […]

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Why Scotland’s failure to protect its seas simply cannot continue

30 Sep 2024

This piece first appeared in Scotland on Sunday on the 29th of September, 2024. Who doesn’t love a sea view? Scotland has glorious ocean vistas by the bucketload. But looking out to the horizon, we rarely think about what’s beyond view, deep below the surface. Scotland’s deep seas are home to extraordinary creatures, from whales […]

A firework anemone in the deep sea

Out of sight, out of mind? Why we should care about protecting the deep sea

05 Sep 2024

The deep sea is one of those mysterious parts of planet earth – or should that be planet ocean? It’s so far away and out of reach that most people only hear about it occasionally in the news or on wildlife documentaries. But did you know that deep sea ecosystems have a powerful influence on […]

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Who is going to pay for nature restoration?

03 Sep 2024

Nature restoration is a primary objective of many LINK members and we are pleased that in general the imperative of restoring Scotland’s biodiversity is increasingly recognised and that the Scottish government has committed to action.  We are of course deeply concerned about the recent announcements regarding short term cuts to the local authority Nature Restoration […]

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Cuts to Scotland’s nature restoration fund a misguided step

01 Sep 2024

This article first appeared in The Scotsman. Scotland’s response to lockdown was to fall in love with nature. The more we were limited to our homes, the more we realised how much nature meant to us and how much it helped us feel better when the world felt bleak. Have we forgotten that? The natural world […]

A rocky reef with dead man's fingers and shoaling fish in Loch nam Madadh, North Uist

Marine protected area management – FAQs

26 Aug 2024

What are marine protected areas (MPAs)? Marine protected areas (MPAs) are like nature reserves underwater. They are defined areas of the sea set aside to protect and restore important or vulnerable marine species, habitats or ecosystems (communities of living creatures). Usually certain activities are managed (restricted or changed) within MPAs to reduce or prevent damage […]

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